April 28, 2010

End Gaza's three year siege, says UNRWA

Reuel S. Amdur

The European Union and the United States have not put enough pressure on Israel to end the siege of Gaza. That is the viewpoint of Filippo Grandi, Commissioner-General of UNRWA (the United Nations Relief and Works Agency) for Palestinian Refugees, as expressed in an interview with Juan Miguel Muños, appearing in the Spanish newspaper El País.

When asked about his
objectives, he identified education as the biggest. Next is the protection of and denunciation of
the violation of rights, especially the rights of the Palestinians suffering
under the occupation.

His agency is especially
preoccupied with the plight of the 130,000 Palestinians in East Jerusalem and
environs, faced with expulsion and house demolitions. On top of all that, he is struggling to
increase the financial resources.

With regard to Gaza, Grandi
said that reconstruction conducted legally is simply not possible, due to
difficulties between UNWRA and Israel.

For Israel, security is the
primary consideration, while for UNRWA it is important that Gaza receive
materials for construction in a legal and transparent fashion.

Currently, the whole economy
of Gaza is based on tunnels to Rafah, controlled by speculators who, he said,
have no interest in stability. Dialogue
with Israel has been almost fruitless.
Israel promised UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon that construction
materials would be allowed through, but in fact only a small fraction has been
allowed in. A million tons of cement is needed,
but only 25 tons have made it into Gaza since 2007, so currently building is
being done with adobe.

Grandi finds Gaza to be a
priority because of the great needs and the enormous concentration of the
population, with a million and a half kept hostage to politics for three years
now. While, he said, the great majority
of the population wants a normal life, if they are not permitted to have one
there could be an explosion. That
explosion could be political or it could be military. For him, the blockade amounts to collective
punishment, a violation of international human rights law.

On a happier note, Grandi
reported that Saad Hariri, the Lebanese Prime Minister, has promised to improve
conditions in Lebanon’s Palestinian refugee camps and to increase opportunities
for work for the Palestinians there.

1. It is hoped that
the increased opportunities will serve to create greater stability.

While Grandi did not make the
comparison, it is worth noting that Jordan has not locked the Palestinians into
refugee camps and has allowed them to fit into the larger economy. In that regard, Jordan stands out among the
Arab countries.